India’s largest infrastructure company Larsen & Toubro is expected to report a 3.2 percent on-year decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 2,185 crore for the quarter ended December 2021, according to an average of estimates from five brokerages polled by Moneycontrol.
The company is, however, likely to report an 11.5 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenues to Rs 39,687 crore for the December quarter, the poll showed.
The quarter ended December was strong for L&T in terms of order inflows with brokerages estimating that the company won new orders worth Rs 45,000-50,000 crore.
That said, the topline growth of the company will be driven by the core engineering and construction businesses where analysts expect 12 percent on-year growth due to improvement in construction activity in the reporting quarter.
Construction activity in the December quarter improved sharply due to the near-complete re-opening of the economy as the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic abated and the vaccination rate rose.
The operating performance of the company is expected to be mixed. Larsen & Toubro’s consolidated operating profit is likely to rise 7.8 percent on-year to Rs 4,615 crore in the reporting quarter but margins could contract 46-65 basis points to 11.4-11.6 percent.
The contraction in consolidated margins is likely to be driven by the services subsidiaries, which are facing acute margin pressure on account of wage increases in the IT sector.
In the core engineering and construction business, brokerage firm Kotak Institutional Equities expects a 60-basis-point on-year expansion in operating margin to 9.8 percent in the reporting quarter.
Shares of L&T ended 0.6 percent lower at Rs. 1,913.2 on the National Stock Exchange at close on Wednesday. Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
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